You have a decision to make. You want to increase your business reach but don’t know if web designing or digital marketing is what your business needs at this moment in time.
Sincerely, making such decisions can be a difficult one. Only an expert in either field can analyze your current website to determine whether it needs a facelift or decide if you need to put more effort into your digital marketing campaigns.
In this post, I’ll be comparing web designing Vs digital marketing. In the end, you’ll know the difference, including when you need them.
Are you ready? Alright, let’s dig deeper.
What Is Web Designing?
Web designing refers to the creation of a website together with its pages to mirror an organization’s brand and information, ensuring better user-friendly experiences for visitors.
Web development refers to the behind-the-scenes activities that entail building a website for the internet using coding languages.
Who Is A Web Developer?
A web developer is a professional that has the skills required to create a visually appealing, easy-to-navigate and user-friendly website.
We can also define a web developer as a programmer capable of building a World Wide Web application by utilizing a client-server model.
Web developers’ jobs are highly demanding, though experts that know what they’re doing find the job enjoyable.
However, web developers write lines and lines of complex codes using different programming languages. And what’s more, they have to translate from English to a different language (programming language), which the computer can read.
Here are some of the programming languages:
- R
- C#
- Go
- PHP
- Scala
- HTML
- Java
- Swift
- Ruby
- Matlab
- Kotlin
- Python
- TypeScript
- C and C++
A Pro Tip: Web developers are not expected to know all the programming languages, though there’s nothing wrong with learning all. However, a web developer who knows three or four popular programming languages is good to go.
Python, Java, HTML and PHP are among the world’s popular programming languages.
Types of Web Developers:
Three types of web developers exist.
- Front-end
- Back-end
- Full-stack
Now, let’s explain the differences between the three types of web developers mentioned above.
What does a Front-end web developer do? The front-end developer’s responsibility or focus is the website’s visuals. The visuals are the things visitors see on the webpage.
So, the front-end developers’ primary duty is to ensure visitors can easily interact with a website. They achieve this by leveraging technology, design and programming to code the website’s appearance.
Front-end developers also have the task of debugging the website, which is necessary to make it function smoothly.
Back-end developers’ responsibility is quite different. Their primary focus is coding, which causes websites to function and interact with the servers.
So, while the front-end developer controls things you can see on the website, back-end developers control things visitors can’t see.
Visitors cannot see the storage, and security, including other server-side functions. The three significant parts of back-end development include server, app and data.
The Full-stack developer does what the front-end and back-end developer does. In other words, the Full-stack developer is the complete package. They have the knowledge, skills and experience in both areas.
Front-end + Back-end developers = Full-stack developers
Does Your Business Need A Web Developer?
Yes, your business needs a website. It needs a professional-looking website that showcases your brand voice.
So, find a professional web developer to create a brand new website for your business. Get your business online so that potential customers can find you.
If you already have a website, ensure it is mobile-friendly and responsive. Why? 50% of U.S eCommerce sales happen on mobile devices.
So, imagine the massive revenue and growth opportunities you’ll miss if your website isn’t mobile-friendly.
“What is mobile-friendliness“, by the way? It refers to a website’s usability on a mobile device (Android and iOS devices). And Google officially made it a ranking factor on April 21st, 2015.
At BitChip Digital, we design websites and ensure they fit any mobile screen. We understand the ranking boost optimizing a website for mobile can offer. Mobile-optimized websites also rank higher than those optimized for desktops only. Optimizing for both is the right approach.
Mind-Blowing stats showing why you need a website developer:
- 77% of adults in the United States of America own a smartphone. [Pew Research Center]. The research done also shows that three out of 10 Americans claim they are constantly online. So, getting your business a website is a big deal.
- 94% of people judge a website by its design. [ResearchGate]. This stat shows that the old saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover”, doesn’t apply to websites. In this digital age, first impressions matter. Check out the next stat.
- Approximately 61% of users claim they won’t revisit a website that was difficult to navigate. [Google]
- 96% of consumers that visit the internet have encountered sites that weren’t designed with mobile in mind. [Google]. In the same report, Google further stated that 48% of the consumers felt annoyed and frustrated when a website didn’t display well on mobile.
Pro Tip: Don’t allow your customers to get annoyed when they visit your website. Hire a web developer that can build a mobile-friendly and highly responsive website to improve user experience.
- 55% of your visitors will spend less than 15 seconds on your website. [Hubspot].
- It takes only 50 milliseconds for consumers to form an opinion about your website and decide whether to leave or remain. [ResearchGate]. So, put your website in order in the best possible way because you only have a few seconds to impress potential customers.
Pro Tip: You can encourage visitors to spend more time on your website, take action or repeatedly visit by doing the following. Professionals deploy the same strategy for clients with some tweaks.
Load time reduction – This helps to reduce your site’s bounce rate and significantly boost average session duration. You can achieve this by compressing files, reducing redirects, optimizing your images, etc.
Navigation optimization – This involves improving how search engines and visitors find and access information on your website. It talks about site taxonomy, including how you label the menus on desktop and mobile and the structure of the pages.
A Pro Tip: A website with a good navigation system will boost the chances of customers taking action or sticking around for an extended period.
You can optimize your website’s navigation by incorporating a search box and optimizing SEO labels that align with your company. Let your most essential items be at the start of the menu, and finally, incorporate a navigation link on the header, footer and size bar.
Have these tips stored at the back of your mind and adhere to them when designing your navigation menu.
What Is Digital Marketing?
The term “digital marketing” refers to a form of marketing, which involves using the internet and several digital channels to advertise products or services.
You can also classify digital marketing, also called online marketing, as all marketing efforts deployed online to promote a product, service or idea.
Here are seven critical digital marketing channels digital marketers use.
- Website
- Video
- Mobile
- Social media
- Paid Search (SEM)
- Organic Search (SEO)
Who Is A Digital Marketer?
A digital marketer is a person/professional that helps businesses promote their products or services using one or more digital channels.
A digital marketer has the skills, knowledge and, most importantly, experience to use different digital channels to create brand awareness, generate leads, boost sales and improve website ranking.
Today, anyone can call himself a “digital marketer” even when the skills required to be one are not there. Tons of digital marketing agencies flood the internet daily with many promising results they can’t deliver.
Anyone can become a digital marketer or run a digital marketing agency. You also have the opportunity to make the right choice for your company.
So, choose the best digital marketing service for your business if you have a reason to hire one.
You can use any digital channel and even promote your business yourself. Many companies don’t have the budget for digital marketers. Thus, they promote their products by themselves.
You can do the same thing too. But if you need results (generating more leads, traffic, sales, and ranking), hiring a digital marketer would be a wise decision.
A Pro Tip: A professional digital marketer can use any digital channel to promote a product or service in ways you never imagined.
Another reason to consider hiring a digital marketer is that your business will have the chance to run campaigns without incurring losses and negative ROI. Instead, you’ll enjoy positive ROI.
It is not rocket science, and no strategy is full-proof. But when implemented, your marketing campaigns can deliver the results you seek.
I have noticed over the years that implementation is where many digital marketers make big mistakes. If you have a strategy, adhere to it and keep a close watch throughout the campaign.
One exciting thing about digital marketing is that you can track the results of your campaigns and make changes fast if you notice that things aren’t going right.
Digital marketing metrics you can track:
- Traffic By Source
- Overall Website Traffic
- Page Views
- Sessions
- Exit Rate
- Cost Per Click
- Most Visited Page
- Bounce Rate
- Impression
- Overall ROI
- Social Reach
- Conversion Rate
- Email Open Rate
- Cost Per Acquisition
- Social Engagement
- Average Session Duration
- Email Click-Through Rate
- Cost Per Conversion
- Overall Return On Investment (ROI)
Do You Need A Digital Marketer?
Yes, you do. It is not just enough to build a website. You have to promote it, and that’s where you need a digital marketer’s help.
A digital marketer will make your business easier for potential customers to find. They plan, create and execute marketing campaigns for business success.
Digital marketers help generate traffic, brand awareness, and sales and even engage your potential customers using diverse digital channels.
So, if you want to ensure your products and services become visible online, digital marketers are the professionals you need.
A Pro Tip: No brand that wants to succeed in today’s fast-paced and highly competitive digital world should neglect online marketing.
Web Designing Vs Digital Marketing: The Major Difference
People view digital marketer and web development as the same. And you cannot blame them.
Why? Digital marketing and web development both hover around user experience and digital platforms. But make no mistake; they’re not the same.
So, what’s the difference between digital marketing and web development? The differences are evident in their responsibilities and objectives.
The marketer deploys digital channels such as websites, social media, email, and others to generate more leads, increase sales and profits.
On the other hand, the web developer focuses on creating a website that represents the brand voice. In addition, web developers also focus on the performance and appearance of the website, fixing flaws that may hamper the website‘s growth.
The web developer ensures the website runs smoothly so the digital marketer can promote the products and achieve the business objectives.
But make no mistake. Digital marketers can have web designing skills and vice versa. So, a person can be called a digital marketer and, at the same time, a web developer.
Does Your Business Need A Digital Marketer or Web Designer?
What would determine who you hire is your business’s needs.
Let’s assume you already have a website. In this case, you need a digital marketer to promote the website to potential customers.
A web developer is crucial only when you don’t have a website or your website has flaws. Web developers can help you fix bugs and ensure the website is easy to navigate, visually appealing, and secure.
You must also decide whether to hire a back-end, front-end or full-stack developer.
Finally, please understand that web developers and digital marketers are crucial to your business. You need them to position your business for success online.
Conclusion
Web designing and digital marketing services are crucial to your business. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a start-up business or an established one.
A web developer can help you create a visually appealing website that will attract visitors. But, a digital marketer can turn those visitors into paying customers.
BitChip Digital is a full-service digital marketing company with a proven track record of helping businesses succeed. We have put together the best team of web developers and digital marketers that can help position your business for success.
Get contact with our team today to discuss your project. You will work according to your instructions and provide professional suggestions where needed.
So contact us today, and let’s unleash the true potential of your business by using cutting-edge technology and digital channels.